The present invention relates to a solid state disk. More particularly, the present invention relates to a device and method capable of ciphering and deciphering all large-volume data associated with a solid state disk.
As contemporary electronic devices are increasingly mobile and smaller in size, some design trends have moved away from the use of conventional Hard Disk Drive (HDD) units as bulk data storage components. In many instances, the flash memory-based Solid State Disk (SSD) has replaced the HDD and other magnetic disk devices. When compared to conventional HDDs, the SSD is relatively disadvantageous in its overall storage capacity and cost. But it is also relatively advantageous in its data access speed, overall size, and resistance to mechanical impact. Ongoing development efforts related to fabrication processes for and design adaptations of the SSD can be expected to increase data storage capacity and decrease cost. Hence, it is expected that in the near future, the magnetic disk device may be replaced by the SSD in many applications.
As the SSD is increasingly incorporated in electronic devices (e.g., laptop computers, portable audio/video systems) as a bulk data storage device, its control unit is an essential interface between the constituent flash memory and the others components forming the device. In essence, the control unit administers data exchange according to a defined protocol. Many conventional computer systems use the so-called “Advanced Technology Attachment or ATA” to exchange data with conventional HDDs. The ATA is essentially a data transfer standard promulgated by IBM corporation defining an exchange of data between a host device and conventional HDDs. Any bulk data storage interface, such as those associated with a SSD, must competently implement the ATA in order to be backwards compatible with legacy software and existing data exchange protocols. Yet, SSD controllers must establish an interface with a flash memory, not some type of magnetic disk. A device for controlling the overall data transfer between a SSD and a corresponding host device will hereafter be referred to as a SSD controller.